Canada’s Lakatos wins 2nd silver medal at the Para-Athletics World Championships in Paris
Canadian Brent Lakatos is no stranger to the podium.
But even he may never have come as close as his latest silver medal, which he won Friday in the men’s T54 1,500-meter wheelchair race at the World Para-Athletics Championships in Paris.
Lakatos, who has earned 10 career Paralympic medals, snuck into Friday’s final by one-hundredth of a second in Thursday’s heats and took the last spot in the slower of the two qualifying races.
And so the resident of Dorval, Que., knew a change was needed for the medal race. He said he had as many as nine different plans in mind.
“The plan that fell was that I was in the pack and it was moving, so then the strategy was to attack with 500 meters to go,” he said. “And there was a headwind at 500m, so I thought this plan was especially good because most people don’t want to come out with a headwind, so I’ll jump on top and I got lucky and it worked.” .”
LOOK | Lakatos rises to silver medal:
Brent Lakatos of Dorval, Que., was knocked out at the line by Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, in the men’s 1,500-meter T54 race. It is his second silver medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.
The mid-race decision put Lakatos in second place and crossed the finish line in two minutes, 52.07 seconds – almost 30 ticks faster than his qualifying time.
Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won gold in a championship record time of 2:51.32, while Thailand’s Prawat Wahoram scored bronze in 2:52.18.
Lakatos, 43, can now claim 21 career world championship medals, including 13 golds, six silvers and two bronzes.
LOOK | Lakatos speaks to CBCs Athletics North:
While it wasn’t the color he was hoping for, five-time Paralympian Brent Lakatos was relieved to still be in medal contention after taking time off from racing after the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. We spoke to the wheelchair racer after his 400m T53 silver medal win on his comeback, and what got him excited about the new generation of Para athlete.
Canadian compatriot Amanda Rummery of Sherwood Park, Alta placed fourth in the women’s T47 400m, missing the podium by about half a second despite her personal best of 59.06 seconds.
“I’m over the moon with that. I mean, fourth in the world, that’s crazy. That’s a place to be really proud of,” said Rummery.
Born in Peace River, Alta., Thomas Normandeau placed seventh in the men’s version of the discipline with a season-best time of 50.25 seconds.
Morocco’s Ayoub Sadni set a world record of 46.78 seconds to win gold.
LOOK | Day 6 Highlights:
Watch the evening session of day six of the World Para Athletics Championships from Paris.
Watch live coverage of the World Para Athletics Championships on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Coverage from Paris continues Saturday at 3 a.m. ET with the morning session of Day 7.
